Ghost hunters say local building is haunted

Thursday

KINGSTON — The 1686 House, now a restaurant, was originally a home — one of the oldest in town. But is it haunted?

KINGSTON — The 1686 House, now a restaurant, was originally a home — one of the oldest in town. But is it haunted?

New England Ghost Investigations, a team of paranormal investigators and a psychic, decided to see what they could find out recently, and the Herald tagged along.

The team went in last month with the permission of the Gillespie family, which owns the property. Investigators were armed with infrared cameras, digital recording devices and video equipment and monitors.

Even as he arrived, psychic Jeff Noyles said, he began to get impressions.

He sensed the presence of American Indians and the smell of a vegetable garden outside. He said that coming across the parking lot, he saw an older man leading a horse hooked up to a carriage.

"There are definitely spirits attached to this building," said Noyles.

In one of the dining rooms, which was part of the original barn, Noyles said he saw a man sitting in a corner. He said he tried to engage the man in conversation, but got nowhere. He said the man had been in charge of the horses.

"You can shoot hundreds of pictures and get nothing," Sullivan said. "Then suddenly you have something."

Sullivan does a lot of shots in mirrors, and has some startling images at www.ectoweb.com, a Web site he operates with Mossey.

Mossey said she has recorded voices in various investigations.

At the 1686 House, Sullivan said he captured what seems to be an image on video, and Mossey said she recorded voices. She said her recorder can pick up voices human ears can't hear.

Among the words Mossey said she captured: "Those are locked," "There's hundreds of angels," "I'm frightful," and "get those off of you."

Cold spots are considered by the investigators an indicator of a ghostly presence, and there were many in the old building.

Monfet said ghosts are everywhere. He didn't have a lot of luck with his infrared shooting, but explained that he was using a new kind of film.

In a smaller dining room, Noyles sensed the presence of children — lots of happy, playing children. The room was dark as he talked about it, but when lights were turned on, the walls were covered with pictures of children.

At one of the stairwells, Noyles said he sensed a loving presence and stolen kisses. Another staircase served as a boy's hiding place for games of hide and seek, he said.

In the Clark Room, Noyles said it was used as a meeting place and was full of the feel of politics. Mossey speculated that it could be the location where Kingston's Josiah Bartlett signed the Declaration of Independence.

In the old, dirt basement, Marlene Gillespie said, there are three blocked tunnels that led to different streets outside. They were used to escape American Indian attacks. One tunnel was partially unblocked, but it was not possible to see to the end.

Also in the basement was an old root cellar. Noyles sat inside the bricked area for a while before announcing parents used to hide their children there, to keep them safe during storms.

After encountering what Noyles said was the presence of an angry man, everyone in the room was startled by the smell of flowers. It only lasted a few seconds, but there were no flowers in the room.

After the investigation, Noyles said, he sensed a lot of businessmen discussing the economy during the late '20s and early '30s.

"There were a lot of lines crossing from that time to this time," Noyles said. "I was bombarded with many different eras."

"I thought there would be something more there," Monfet said. "Some of the places we've done haven't been quite as old as this one, being one of the first houses in Kingston. It was still interesting to go in and try to prove or disprove there is something there. You never know what you're going to get, but I do believe ghosts are out there and we've seen proof many times before."

But are there ghosts at the 1686 House? In light of the evidence collected, the team said, yes, there's definitely something supernatural there.

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